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| Country Roads...corrected |
Previously in Nightwick...
Corfu (Dwarf 1)
Mayfly (Magic-user 3)
Ianthi (Changling 1)
Grant (Fighter 1)
Sotar (Cleric 2)
At the Medusa's Head...
A bounty has gone out:
A daring frogling who calls himself Hoppin in the Hood has attacked several caravans with his band of happy frogs. The van Toad trading house has offered 150 knots (1500 SP) for his capture or proof of slaying.
The party is interested in this coin because being rich is second only to being alive as a preferred state in the Dark Country. Or maybe that is just Mayfly's feelings about the matter. Actually, Mayfly would prefer "power" over "riches".
Silver is tossed about by Ianthi and Sotar to gather information pertaining to this bachtrachian brigand. And they uncover the following rumors and tales:
"He's got a band of 30 happy frogs, but don't be fooled, he's a sadist and look my ear clean off!"
"Given the where the attacks happen, I am sure he is based 'round the hamlett of Vollage"
And what does the party know about the hamlet of Vollage? Corfu knows a bit about the world and remembered that not long ago (by dwarf standards) a tower was being constructed by a knight of Lychgate but The White Lady, a powerful witch, attacked and burned it to the ground. Those who died inside became ghosts that haunt the ruins.
(PC NOTE: Dwarves in Nightwick have a unique ability called There When the World Was Made which is a 2-in-6 chance to know lore about a place or events. Nice way to provide lore without a dump.)
HEXCRAWL TIME!
THE DECISION- FIGHT AN UNKNOWN NUMBER OF IMMORTALS or A KNOWN 30 MORTALS? The party figures that there is no way they are going to be able to take on 30 "happy frogs" with a penchant for ear removal. So, they decide to travel to the hamlet of Vollage to check out the ruins. Why not go "up" in a cursed tower instead of "down" in a cursed abbey for a change. So they hit the road.
THE SWINE HERDER...or SOMETHING ELSE?: About midday on the road, they run across a swine herder who offers up that rain is due soon and there will be no doubt strange things that await the party. That earned some side-eye, but Mayfly flips the herder a silver, just in case he was something in disguise.
THREE DISCARDED...SKINS?: The drizzle turns to rain as the party come upon three sets of clothing in the road. Grant makes a closer inspection and confirms they are in fact human skins, but removed as if clothing, and with such a deft execution the whole piece seems to be uncut or unruined by removal. Although a clear congealed mass and black hairs around the mouth confirm one thing...werewolves.
Mayfly wanted to take the skins as leverage to use them again the frog bandit. Sotar commented that to apply that leverage, the party would have to come up with a way to make getting the skins more difficult f to get rather than straight-up murdering us. Point Sotar.
A ROADSIDE SHRINE with... SPRITE CRUCIFIXION? With the rain now a downpour and visibility nil, Mayfly casts ESP given the prior two ominous encounters. A 60' range, but better than being set upon by werewolves at 0' feet. Soon the party sees a small light bobbing up and down at an unknown distance. Drawing within the range of the spell, Mayfly is overcome with a strong sense of sadness. Will-o'-Wisp?
Imploring the party to stop, the group sees the light is in fact a sobbing sprite. The spite is floating in front of an obvious shrine to The Lady but adorned with two small sprite skeletons with tiny wooden halos (Sotar the cleric: That is f------d).
Mayfly asks what can be done to help. Bleed from the ESP maybe? The sprite perks up.
"Oh yes! You can eat them! I'll help you take the halos off!!"
Corfu speaks up, "I'll eat one"
"No! Not you" the sprite shouts, "nor you either" pointing at Ianthi. Clearly only those not of farie blood can consume the skeletons.
"Well first what is your name?", asks Mayfly
Amused the sprite replies: "I can't tell you that silly"
"Okay well, how about 'Raindrop'?"
The sprite repeats this over and over, until turning back to the questions of skeleton eating.
Hard "no" comes from Sotar and Grant, but Mayfly has heard stories about men gaining power through the consumption of magical beings and/or their organs. Any studying has been painfully slow.
(PC NOTE: Also, Mayfly's WIS is 07 (-1) so impulsiveness and lack of patience is a trait)
"Sure, I'll do it." and Mayfly swallows the first skeleton goes down with surprising and disturbing ease.
(PC NOTE: Along with a failed save throw)
THE FIRST BARGAIN: Mayfly remembered tails of faerie bargains. Maybe not as powerful as those made with the infernal creatures of The Pit, but less likely to completely lose your soul.
"Now, since I did you a favor, I should get a favor in return. It is only fair," states Mayfly
"Ugh. Fine." Raindrop says with an eye-roll
A discussion follows that establishes (in the pouring rain) Raindrop knows who "Hoppin' Hood" is and where he lives. So Mayfly states the following:
"Bring me the smallest thing he values the most."
"Done!" And Raindrop flies off.
(PC NOTE: Any people think old-school D&D is just grey corridors and hack & slash. Here we have a prime example of diplomacy and necrophagy. What's not to love! This was a great situation as a player. A creepy ask by an NPC combined with a drop of in-world knowledge about what could be an outcome: power. Already Mayfly has used soul-coins to gain a tutor, so why not eat a sprite skeleton? But this situation is another nice example of using IRL myths and stories about creatures to govern their in-game behavior. So, I chose to try and deal with this creature as a thing of myth not a "D&D monster on pg XX". Finally, the bargain we were able to make was also to help us with another problem- the frog bandits. So PCs, factions, verbal deals, and the mixing of IRL myth and in-game lore all smashes together. Perfect D&D cocktail.)
THE SECOND BARGAIN: The party makes it to the hamlet of Vollage, soaked through, but with dry silver. The local inn provides the party with plates of cooked cabbage and cooked eel- the majority go with the cooked eel. Not much is learned from the locals and the party decides to bunk down in the common room for the night along with to men-at-arms of the bishop (PC NOTE- sus).
One of these men-at-arms wakes the party up screaming... at Mayfly's glowing chest. Mayfly feels the glow moving up into his throat like an overactive glob of cabbage. Mayfly begins scrambling for wine, water, or anything to swallow this thing.
Adding to the panic and confusion, a small glow starts loudly rapping at the window so the party and a gagging Mayfly scramble out of the common room and into the storm. Two almost simultaneous things happen:
Mayfly hits the ground and coughs up... another faerie while feeling all the new magic he's learned recently drain from him!
Raindrop then informs the party of what "smallest and most valuable thing" has been taken... Hoppin Hood's remaining eye!
"You owe me!" Mayfly horsely barks at the new faerie. "I gave you life by my own essence and you owe me an equal favor in return! The eye was *just* for eating the skeleton."
"Ugh" the new sprite said with a stamp of a tiny foot.
It was discussed that the favor was to be determined later. The new sprite, named by Mayfly for the spell now lost to him- Espy, handed over a small flute made from her own rib. Then Raindrop tries once more.
"Okay who wants to eat the other skeleton?!"
...End Scene
(PC NOTE: What happened when the faerie was coughed up? Level drain.
Yes, that feared and hated, in equal amounts, old school mechanic of the undead. Did I feel "cheated", naw. I could have chosen Mayfly to not have eaten the skeleton in the first place. Then, I could have said my character was gonna do everything to keep this high-in-calcium snack down. Instead, I chose to have Mayfly cough it up like a hairball because he was in the presence of the faerie who held its end of the bargain. Might be bad to double-cross a being who could be useful. Also, I thought level drain was really well employed in the moment by a creature not normally known for that sorta thing. It was a very interesting, entertaining session and what drove that-- educated risk-taking and "endangering" the PC. And despite being level-drained, I feel like my character still has gained a lot through this set of actions-- the character is building strong in-game history through action.)
